Oxygen-conditioning and administering apparatus



April 7, 1956 B. M. MOORE ETAL OXYGEN-CONDITIONING AND ADMINISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24. 1954 MM X m m M mek R V fi w 0L W M M 0/ m mm em W Y B mo m+ n/ w w mm & M hm n X X c H 2 r( cam m .fi v r E mm i ed States Pa O OXYGEN-CONDITIONING AND ADMINISTERING APPARATUS Ben M. Moore and Edward E. Litkenhous, Nashville, Tenn., assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, to Oxy-Therapy, Inc., Davidson County, Tenn., :1 corporation of Tennessee Application August 24, 1954, Serial No, 451,834

, 11 Claims. (Cl. 128-4911 of relatively small capacity mounted on said hand truck;

a thermostatic switch for controlling the operation of said refrigerating unit, said switch being adjustably responsive to the temperature of the oxygen or thegas being supplied to the patient; a humidifier for adding moisture to the gas being administered; a flow-meter for indicating the rate of flow of said gas; a heat-exchanger inserted in the gas line and including one set of cooling coils connected therein and a second set of coils connested to said refrigerating unit; a low, flat-topped housing over saidapparatus, said housing having posts on the top surface thereof for retaining a treatment reservoir or box securely thereon during transportation or storage of the apparatus;- an instr'ument'panel exposed at the front of said hand truck for easy access thereto or observation thereof; wheels for rollingly supporting the rear portion of said' hand truck; a detachable tow-bar including small wheel-supported truck at the lower end for tilting disengagement from said hand truckwhen in place under a bed, and having feet for supporting the front end of said hand truck when said tow-bar is disengaged therefrom. I

The improvements over the earlier application involved in this disclosure comprise (1) combining the heat-exchanger, humidifier, thermostatic switch, and the flow meter into a compact unit which can be attached to the oxygen box so as to be close to the patient and readily accessible to his attendants, (2) connecting said unit by flexible conduits and electric wires to the apparatus proper, (3) providing means for quickly detachablysupporting said unit on the apparatus for transportation and on the oxygen box for therapeutic treatment, and (4) providing means around which the extension flexible conduits and wires can be wound when not in use.

Conventional oxygen treatment requires the time-consuming steps of transporting an oxygen tent to the patients bed, setting up said tent over the patients bed, wheeling in one or more tanks of oxygen (which are set up beside the bed where they are very much in the way, as well as unsightly), connecting a humidifier if considered necessary into the oxygen supply line, and applying ice bags or cool compresses to the patient from time to time where cooling is needed. This conventional apparatus, when set up, is inefiicient both from the viewpoint of gas-consumption and therapeutic effects. This bulky, cumbersome, and in-the'way apparatus seriously 2 ,742,040 Patented Apr. 17, 1956 interferes with administering to the patients needs. The patient is also disturbed psychologically by the shut-in feeling produced by the oxygen tent, and by the presence of the clearly visible oxygen cylinders and other instruments. By the use of the disclosed small open-topped treatment-reservoir or box, made of clear plastic panels, the compact conditioning unit, and the truck-mounted, under-the-bed apparatus of this invention, most of the disadvantages of the prior-art treatment-apparatus are eliminated, and a greatly improved efficiency in timesaving, lower-cost operation, and therapeutic effectiveness results.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a unitary truck-mounted apparatus for holding and transporting one or more cylinders of oxygen or other therapeutic gases along with the accessories necessary for administering said oxygen or gas to a bed patient. a

It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus of this nature which is of such construction and arrangement that all bulky accessory parts can be wheeled under the patients bed, so as to be substantially concealed and out of the way, but in which the oxygencooling heat-exchanger, the humidifier and thermostatic controls are combined into a compact unit adapted, for minimizing heat losses, for mounting close to the patient by being connected to the under-bed apparatus by flexible hoses and wires.

It is a further object of this invention to provide portable apparatus for cooling, humidifying and delivering oxygen orother theraeputic gases to the newer open-topped, transparent-walled, treatment-reservoir or boxes now coming into greater use. I

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views:

.Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus in a typical use thereof.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan of view of the holder for the Oxygen-conditioning unit, in section taken on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1.

-Fig. 3 is a perspective view in a vertical axial section through the oxygenrconditioning unit.

With reference now to the drawings the letter B designates a conventionalhospital bed, and the-letter P the patient being treated with oxygen or other therapeutic gas. The letter 0 generally designates an opentop plastic treatment box, of known construction.

Numeral 11 generally designates the apparatus embodying the present invention. Said apparatus includes a low-slung truck bed 13 provided at its rear corners with supportingwheels (not shown) and having at its front edge an apertured attachment tongue 15 for engagement by a lifting and towing device (not shown) which per se forms no part of the present invention. Truck bed 13 is adapted to carry one or more cylinders 17 of oxygen or other therapeutic gas, and carries thereon a low-power refrigerating device consisting of the electrically driven holder 31 for the oxygen-conditioning unit generally designated 33 and next to be described.

Unit 33 comprises a cylindrical housing 35 which may be conveniently formed of a section of tubing (plastic or metal), and a second smaller housing 37 which may be of similar construction and which is adapted to partially wrap around the side of the housing 35 and form therewith a connection-box. Housing 35 coaxially receives the cylindrical heat-exchanger 39. Heat-exchanger 39 comprises three (more or less) closely wound helices, the inner and outer ones of which are integrally connected at their upper ends by the loop 39A. This forms a double-helix closed-circuit heat-exchanger for coupling to the refrigerating device 19-23 of Fig. 1, to which it .is connected by the flexible conduits 41. The central helix 43 of the heat-exchanger 39 conducts the oxygen or other therapeutic gas through the heat-exchanger 39 so as to cool the same before it is conducted through the flexible extension 45 into the humidifier 47. Oxygen is supplied to the helix 23 by the flexible conduit 49 leading to the oxygen cylinder 17.

Humidifier 47 includes a discharge pipe 47 which bubbles the oxygen through the water 51 in the reservoir portion 53 of the humidifier. Oxygen leaves humidifier 47 through the flow meter 55 and thence passes through I the flexible conduit 57, through the oxygen diffuser attachment 59 and into the treatment chamber 0, as is shown in Pig. 1.

The unit 33 carries a hook or other quick-detachable means 61 for engagement into the socket-forming device 63, attachable by any suitable means to the oxygen box 0 or to the bed frame or other nearby structure. The connection box 37 of the oxygen-conditioning unit 33 carries on its top wall the adjustment portion of the thermostatic device 65, the temperature-sensitive bulb portion 65A of which is housed within the heat-exchanger and preferably is located fairly close to the humidifier reservoir 53 when the same is in its lower operativeposition indicated by the broken-line showing of Fig. 3. The electric current switch of the control device 65 controls the motor of compressor 19 through the connecting cable 67.

The conduits 41 and 49 are collectively designated 71 in Fig. l and are bound into unit at spaced intervals by ring-like devices 73 so as to form a composite flexible connection extending between the apparatus proper and the conditioning unit 33.- If desired, a tubular sheath can be slipped over the conduits for protection, sanitation, etc. When the conditioning unit 331) is stored in the holder 31 for transportation or non-use the composite connection device 71 may conveniently be stored on the top surface of the apparatus 11 by wrapping the same around the reel-like device formed by a plurality of upstanding posts 75.

While we have disclosed a certain preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that many changes can be made in the size, shape, composition and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit of the invention as designed by the adjoining claims.

For example: the flexible conduits 41 and 49 can be extended through openings in the housing of 37 for con nection to the extension of the helices of the heat-exchanger 39 within said housing 37 as by being slipped over the ends thereof andconnected thereto by conventional hose connections (not shown); also the oxygen cylinders can be omitted where piped oxygen is available and the apparatus accordingly can be greatly reduced in size.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A portable therapeutic apparatus for conditioning oxygen or other gases, comprising: a portable support structure; mechanical refrigerating compressor and condenser apparatus mounted on said structure; a heat-exchanger unit of compact construction for cooling said oxygen and adapted for use relatively remote from said structure and closely adjacent a treatment zone; and flexibleconduits for coupling said refrigerating apparatus to said heat-exchanger.

2. Structure according to claim 1, said heat-exchanger unit also including a humidifying device inserted in the oxygen conduit, said device being also cooled by said heat-exchanger. 1

3. Structure according to claim 2, and also comprising an adjustable thermostatic device mounted on said unit and responsive to the temperature of a part of said unit.

4. Structure according to claim 1 and also comprising an adjustable thermostic device mounted on said unit and responsive to the temperature of a part of said unit.

5. Structure according to claim 1 and additionally comprising means on said support structure for windingly holding said conduits.

6. Structure according to claim 1 and additionally comprising a carrying support for said unit mounted on said support structure.

7. Structure according to claim 1, said .unit having means for detachably connecting the same to an opentopped oxygen box adjacent the rim thereof.

8. Structure according to claim 1, said unit comprising intertwined helices for efiicient heat-transfer and small volume.

9. Structure according to claim 8, said helices comprising a single oxygen cell and a doubled-back pair of refrigerant-conducting helices embracing said coil.

10. Structure according to claim 9, and additionally comprising a humidifier for the oxygen vertically axially mounted within said helices.

11. Structure according to claim 1, said unit including a connection housing in which said flexible conduits are joined to the tubes of said heat-exchanger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,550,810 Heidbrink May 1, 1951 2,581,709 Rogers Jan. 8, 1952 2,702,546 Gllroy Feb. 22, 1955 

